Madhuvidya

SR No.: 006525
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 762
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Literature, & Philosophy
File Size: 17 MB

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Annals BORI, LXXIX (1998)
science is of dialectic nature. It is therefore not desirable to shut the door completely on all available secondary literature,
Finally, as regards the question of the form of a practicable etymologi. cal dictionary, Mayrhofer says that the best way to approach this question is to know first the form of an ideal etymological dictionary of a large-corpus language. This ideal makes the following demands :
1. The author of the dictionary has to transform all independent words of the traditionally handed down texts into etymological lemmata.
2. These lemmata are to be referred to their ultimate constituent ele. ments in accordance with the rules of the grammar of that language ; and, if the word is an inherited one, then in accordance with the rules of the grammar of the older stage of that language ; and, finally, if the word is a loan word, then according to the rules of that source language.
3. The author of an ideal etymological dictionarty has to enquire about not only how his lemmata have arisen, but also where they have gone, i, e., e. g. whether OIA words have survived in later Indo-Aryan languages or whether Latin words in Romance languages. This information is accompanied by the citation of comparable forms from related languages, especia. lly closely related languages.
4. The reader of the dictionary has to be supplied with information on all etymological explanations that have been previously offered.
5. In case the language does not already have a dictionary dealing with word-bistories, or if no such dictionary has been promised for it, informa. tion about the fate of the lemmata within the documented history of the language shall follow the above information on the origin of the words and their comparison with related languages.
The ideal etymological dictionary thus will be both etymological and word-historical at the same time. It will be a thesaurus augmented by the information on the rules of derivation, linguistic comparison and history of etymological explanations. That will be a wonderful achievement no doubt, but its execution has to face two formidable burdles. Such a dictionary will run into several volumes, may be fifty, tu which will unbearably tax the
As an actual example, Mayrhofer mentions W. von Wartburg's Fransösio os Etymologisches Wörterbuch.
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